


Dropping Stuff Here Just ‘Cause (read summary and notes, please!)

by CharbroilLaFlamme



Category: Team Fortress 2
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe, Aromantic Character, Asexual Character, Character Study, Denial of Feelings, Fanfiction, Genderfluid Character, Headcanon, Implied Relationships, Multi, Notes and plotting, Other, Relationship(s), Work In Progress, Writer’s interpretation, Writing Notes, biromantic character
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-09
Updated: 2018-04-10
Packaged: 2019-04-20 12:10:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,616
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14260695
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CharbroilLaFlamme/pseuds/CharbroilLaFlamme
Summary: I never confided in y’all how I became trash for Engineer/Soldier. It happened pretty recently with a story I was working on. I intended for them to only be very close buddies, but apparently the story had its own plans.Here’s some notes I wrote for the story itself! Fleshing out relationships and who the Mercs are in this universe as a whole.If y’all have feedback, feel free to provide!





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> The story in question was meant to be an AU where the mercs met up again a long time later. It was pretty angsty (I mean, come on, it’s titled “Bleak Fortress”) and I was going to have some deaths in it.  
> I still may work on it but at this point I’m still not sure where I want it to go.
> 
> Some extra info:
> 
> *this story is told from the Engie’s POV!  
> *This stuff is mostly unedited (some of it has been spaced out to make it less cluttered)!  
> *Some of it is unfinished, it is unrefined it is messy, and it is still in progress!  
> *This is AU stuff!

Bleak Fortress Relationships

The Engineer mainly remains amicable with his peers.

  * With Soldier: The two manage a decent friendship, remaining incredibly close and staying emotionally involved with their pasts. They are both in love with their history as mercenaries and treasure their bonds.


  * With Heavy: He and Mikhail both share an interest in a quiet life at home and want nothing more but to live their lives in peace. However, Heavy is far more realistic and sees how much they’ve changed and is sceptical of things coming back full circle.


  * With Demoman: He and Tavish both manage businesses and worry about the mission at hand. The two seem to disagree however in some cases, mostly the importance of digging up their friendship again.


  * With Scout: Dell views Jeremy as a nephew or kid brother and also tends to treat him like a kid out of reflex—much to Jeremy’s chagrin. They act like father and son as well, however, Dell offering advice to him regarding his choices.


  * With Medic: He considers Ludwig to be the only other one he can relate to scientifically. He is rather pleased to see that the good doctor has since mellowed out and settled down.


  * With Pyro: The Pyro remains right as Dell remembers; energetic, bouncy, and cheerful. The two are inseparable. Though Dell prefers his space, he always has time to hug the firebug.


  * With Spy: For as long as Dell can remember, he and Spy never really talked often unless it was about business. They both were leery of the other and usually steered clear of any interaction. Though he recalls the Spy enjoyed ribbing him.


  * With Sniper: He and Mick were good friends, Dell often working general maintenance on Mick’s van. They enjoyed their quiet time and sometimes spent time quietly sipping coffee in the early morning.



 

* * *

 

Bleak Fortress Stuff

  * Engineer: Dell Conagher; some time in retirement, lives at home as a freelance technician and tinkerer. He is called by Doe (Soldier) who tells him the long and short of the situation; robots are back, and the team is needed to protect Mann Co again.


  * Medic: Ludwig; lives happily with his partner, Mikhail (the Heavy), in his hometown; reluctant to start a family.


  * Scout: Jeremy; Has a family of a wife, and two sons.


  * Heavy: Mikhail; lives happily with his partner, Ludwig (the Medic); wants to adopt children with him.


  * Sniper: N/A


  * Soldier: Jane Doe; runs a youth military club for teenagers.


  * Spy: N/A


  * Demoman: Tavish Finnegan Degroot; owns a small tavern in his hometown inspired by his mother, “The Fierce Blind Lady”; 


  * Pyro: idk probably runs an animal shelter.



 

* * *

 

Bleak Fortress character orientations and gender leaning

  * Engineer: Most certainly a very repressed bi-romantic male, having been raised in the deep south as a conservative. He fights with himself about how he feels. He is quite curious however and will sometimes find himself admiring a male. He thinks he hides it well but he really doesn’t.


  * Soldier: Bi-romantic male. He usually keeps his feelings under wraps out of embarrassment and fear of judgement and/or ridicule. He enjoys admiring from afar and can be an absolute hopeless romantic. He tries not to stress himself with affections, but he does so anyway.


  * Pyro: Presents themselves as gender-fluid in expression. Loves everything from sharp-collared suits and dapper ties to frilly scarves and dresses. They are aro-ace and are a sucker for platonic cuddles and forehead kisses. They enjoy being close to others.


  * Medic: Bi-romantic Homosexual male with slight effeminate tendencies. Is content with showering his partner in affection while he tries to read his novels. He enjoys having quiet reading sessions with his partner.


  * Heavy: Homo-romantic and asexual male. More interested in reading than intimacy. He much prefers quiet time with his partner with no shortage of snuggles.


  * Sniper: Asexual, but his romantic preferences are unknown. He can sometimes maintain a relationship and is perfectly happy without intimacy. He does not tend to like being near people often, but he will make an exception for people he truly likes. He is usually all business.


  * Spy: Bisexual male with a preference for women. He is not interested in the other mercs however and likes to keep business and pleasure far, far apart. But he isn’t above the occasional playful flirting to get under his coworkers’ skin. His favourite ones to tease are the Sniper and Engineer—they both give rather amusing reactions.


  * Scout: Hetero-romantic and heterosexual. He prefers women, but readily cheers on his coworkers and supports their identities and/or orientations with deafening approval.


  * Demoman: He is hetero-romantic and hetero-sexual, but is much too business oriented to really, truly focus on trying for a relationship. Most attempts at making a connection cause him to become anxious and avoidant.



 


	2. Some More Notes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some more notes for that there possibly WIP story! I wrote these out of boredom, to be totally honest. And I liked how they turned out so... yeah!  
> I might write s’more notes later if I get more inspiration for it!
> 
> *once again, this is AU stuff and really has not much bearing in canonical TF2.  
> *This stuff is only ONE person’s interpretation of the characters. I cannot guarantee if it’ll fit in with anyone else’s headcanons.  
> *Also, there is light mention of internalised homophobia (1960’s—1970’s).

Bleak Fortress Character Interpretation

  * Engineer: The Engineer—Dell Conagher—Is in and out a homebody, who loves the idea of being alone with a mug of coffee. He is in pursuit of a peaceful life at home, but he feels a chunk of himself missing that had been missing ever since he’d retired. He is loathe to admit it, but he misses the old days as a Mercenary. He suffers from a touch of internalised homophobia (though he tries not to let it get in his way), due to being born and raised in Texas as your average conservative man. He loves guns, trucks, and adrenaline rushes as much as the next person, but he’d rather be home again, left to himself.


  * Soldier: The Soldier—Jane Doe—is a man out for adventure, and feels himself yearning for camaraderie again. He misses everything about it, especially his friends. He has an optimistic view of everything, a view which often clashes with his co-workers’ views. He hates facing the reality of everything, which sometimes ends in him hurting himself when the illusion crumbles and he realises that he can’t lead like he used to. He openly expresses his love for his past, feeling that it is all he lives for. He is comfortable with who he is, but is not without his bouts of fear of ridicule.


  * Spy: The Spy was not looking for a way back into the open arms of danger, but he comes to realise that he may have missed his peers at one point. But he has overall begun to erase his mercenary past from memory to become a clean man—sort of. He lives in Paris, alone. He is wealthy and comfortable, but feels empty, finding that money and wine cannot fill the void that his partners in crime left behind the day they all went their separate ways. He hates to admit it, but he really, very much misses his old dumb, bumbling teammates.


  * Scout: The Scout—Jeremy—treasures his teammates memories dearly. He tries to tell himself that his home is now among his wife and children. But he still secretly looks back on all of their history fondly. He has all of his old keepsakes stashed away in his attic. His wife knows little of his exploits before marrying him. Jeremy adored his teammates—still does—but tries his best to remain mature and sane for his family’s sake.


  * Demoman: The Demoman—Tavish Finnegan Degroot—Has fond recollections of his old teammates. But he is more of a business-oriented person now and tries refraining from falling back into demolition work. He is reluctant to indulge his teammates desires to return to their old friendships as he is afraid he won’t be able to part with them again. He cannot avoid it forever, since he, at heart, still loves them all very, very dearly. And would give his life to make sure they live on.


  * Heavy: The Heavy—Mikhail, or Misha—is a fierce powerhouse of a man, but not without the soft core he reserves for his brothers-in-arms. He embraces that old team spirit, refusing to let go all that they had done for him. He does not approve of the schisms that have grown between them since they worked last. But he doesn’t make much of an effort to change it, he prefers to let things flow how they wish. He is, like Dell, a homebody, content with living in safe comfort.


  * Medic: The Medic—Ludwig—Had long since left behind all of his misdeeds and became a house-call doctor, living with his partner, Mikhail. He wasn’t scared to go back, per-se, but he had found himself comfortable away from his war-torn roots. But he would admit that he missed it. He and Mikhail disagreed a bit over it, but ultimately realised that it was where they both belonged, together, beside their comrades again.


  * Sniper: The Sniper—Mick Mundy—was always solitary. Always kept himself to himself even at work. But he couldn’t help becoming even more distant ever since parting from his job as team Sniper. He may even have grown attached to his team. Out of all of the team, he was the least changed. The most that happened was he’d become even further removed from everyone. He’d actually taken the parting very hard, and became numb and even depressed without others who were like him.


  * Pyro: The Pyro had always fed off of attention and love from their fellows. They liked being among them, people who treated them like family. Sure their infatuation with all things flammable rose some eyebrows, but their peers still never abandoned them and actually, truly needed them for protection and a confidante. After the team’s disbandment, the Pyro tried to find other sources of friendship, among the public—and became an animal rescue worker. But they yearned still for the company of their team.



**Author's Note:**

> Addendum: I also have some super mushy-kissy-fluff/emotional stuff written out already because I can’t control my trashiness.


End file.
